Yes, fairly depressing if that is the case. But we - by which I mean the science and organisation - will hopefully get better at things as we get more experienced.
I think even the most visceral detractors of our response would agree that the government and systems put in place have more scope...
Really the only thing that matters now is: will the vaccine work on the new variant? As is the way of things I expect the answer won't be a clear "yes" or a clear "no" but instead a solid "it depends".
Everything else is just appeasing various pressure groups, none of whom will get exactly what...